Unnoticed
by Lira Veralily
Summary: Pureblood celebrations were always guaranteed to have drama. For Bellatrix, Andromeda, and Narcissa, this one was no exception. Not femslash. 1st Place Winner for UnleashTheSnitch114's "Prompt Competition: The Black Sisters" in the HPFC forums.


**Disclaimer: This applies to the whole story. Any recognizable Harry Potter characters, objects, events, places, scenes, quotes, et cetera do not belong to me. They belong to the wonderful JK Rowling and her associates. I am not making any profit through this piece and no trademark or copyright violation is intended. This story was made purely for the sake of my own amusement.**

**Summary:** Pureblood celebrations were always guaranteed to have drama. For Bellatrix, Andromeda, and Narcissa, this one was no exception. 1st Place Winner for UnleashTheSnitch114's "Prompt Competition: The Black Sisters" in the HPFC forums.

A/N: Challenge on Megsy'42s Harry Potter Fanfiction Challenges forum.

UnleashTheSnitch114's "Prompt Competition: The Black Sisters": _All you have to do is pick one of the Black sisters, Bellatrix, Andromeda, or Narcissa, and write a fic about them using the prompt I give you. You can of course write with two or all three them if you wish._

* * *

"_When the oak is felled the whole forest echoes with its fall, but a hundred acorns are sown in silence by an unnoticed breeze__." _– Thomas Carlyle

* * *

**Unnoticed**

She scolded herself for running, but at the age of twenty-one, Bellatrix had currently reduced herself to hiding behind a table displaying an elaborate ice sculpture.

This was obviously not normal behavior for a woman of such confidence and stature, someone who on a regular basis used both to her advantage.

Rodolphus Lestrange had been trying the whole evening to catch her alone. Whatever it was he wanted to speak to her about, she probably wouldn't like it.

Bellatrix raised her head cautiously over the table and peered through a gap in the ice, checking for any sign of his person being in the vicinity. She spotted him near the food, talking with his brother, all the while his gaze searching the crowd.

She ducked when it came towards her direction, accidently hitting the table, and scuttled under the tablecloth hurriedly. She hissed, rubbing the point of impact on her shoulder. She gnawed at her lip, hoping profusely that he didn't just witness that display.

Her wishing was in vain, for not five seconds after she had the thought, the tablecloth lifted and Rodolphus' face appeared. She itched to curse him; maybe tie him up somewhere and—

He grinned. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you've been avoiding me, Bella."

"I have been," she scowled. "Go away, Lestrange."

"Now, don't be like that. Come on out from under there. I want to ask you something."

She narrowed her eyes. "If I do will you leave me alone after?"

"Maybe; only if you're nice that is."

She rolled her eyes and crawled out as gracefully as she possibly could. Standing, she brushed out her now ruined dress and turned to look at him. "Fine. What do you want?"

"I would like to ask your permission to begin courting you."

She pursed her lips thoughtfully before grinning triumphantly. "Aha! You went about this the wrong way. According to pureblood tradition, an offer of courtship is automatically considered void if the man hasn't…" The grin slipped from her face. "Oh, tell me you didn't."

He smiled crookedly down at her wide eyes. "If it helps at all, they both agreed."

She exploded with anger, screeching. "You spoke with my _parents_? What the _hell_, Lestrange?"

He raised his arms to block her fists. "Ow! Stop hitting me, Bella. Merlin, you're feisty!"

She back off, aware of the stares they were receiving. Pointing her finger threateningly at him, she stated, "You get one date, otherwise I will never hear the end of it from my mother; one date, that's it. Then, I never want to see your ugly mug again. Got it?"

Rodolphus beamed at her. "Got it. I'll floo you with the time and date as soon as I get us a reservation."

She marched away with a huff, wanting to get as far from him as humanly possible. She didn't see him grinning at her retreating form.

Unbeknownst to Bellatrix, he planned to be married to her within a year's time.

* * *

She seated herself on the window ledge, letting the cool night air sooth the back of her neck.

Andromeda fanned herself absently, her mind completely disengaged from her surroundings. A fair haired young man with a pleasant voice occupied her thoughts. She smiled wistfully as she recalled the concert in Muggle London Ted had taken her to just last week. The concert itself had been an utter disaster, but just getting to spend time with him was precious enough.

"_Psst_, Dromeda!"

She yelped, and before she could catch herself, tumbled backwards out the window.

She landed on something with knobs, knocking the breath out of her. She rolled off if wheezing, and realized she had fallen on someone. Waiting until she regained the ability to breathe, she lay on her back, staring up at the open window and stars above her. Apparently no one from the party had seen her fall out the window to her relief.

The person coughed and she slowly sat up to start yelling at them. Then she realized it was Ted Tonks.

"Merlin… What the hell, Ted! What are you doing here? Someone could see you," she hissed furiously.

"Hey, Dromeda…" he wheezed. "I'm fine… thanks for asking… you?"

She immediately felt guilty, rushing to help him stand up slowly and move towards the garden bench concealed under a willow tree. "Oh, I'm so sorry! It's just you startled me. Here, let me heal your injuries, and while I do that, why don't you tell me why you decided it would be a smart idea to show up at a pureblood celebration." She reached for her wand. "Where are you hurt?"

"I couldn't stand the thought of knowing you were bored out of your mind here." He pouted. "I hurt everywhere. I think they need to be kissed better."

Andromeda's lips twitched, a smile threatening to be exposed as her anger melted away. "Well, in that case…"

Her absence went oblivious to the other guests for the rest of the evening.

* * *

Her dance card was cramped with names of gentlemen she had absolutely no interest in. But it was considered impolite to dismiss more than two men in a night, so there she was, being led by a heavy drunk around the floor.

Her eyes were not on her partner however. They were fixated on a handsome blond man near the staircase who was subtly flirting with a petite red who had been in his year. The man leaned forward, whispering something no doubt scandalous into Red's ear, his fingers tracing her jaw-line. She giggled. Narcissa scowled.

Why couldn't that be her under his intense gaze? She knew that he was intelligent and could hold a stimulating conversation unlike the other pigs who occupied the ballroom, but in the six years they had lived together in the same house at Hogwarts, not once had they ever spoken to each other.

She jumped, startled, when her dance partner's hand clamped harshly onto her behind. Her eyes snapped to his face, a sleazy smirk adorning it.

Without even thinking, her hand slapped it off.

The resounding clap of a soft palm to fleshy cheek was deafening.

He reeled back, stunned by the blow. When he saw her turn to leave, he snarled, "Why you, whore! How dare you—"

She spun. "How dare _you_! Honestly! Even though I didn't want to, I let you dance with me and you took advantage of that. You, sir, are a disgrace." And she left. She couldn't give a damn if she had another four partners she promised dances to.

As she was moving through the crowd towards the exit, she caught _him_ watching her. She blushed red to the roots. He was laughing! Oh, the nerve of him. Picking up her pace, she fled the ballroom wanting to cry.

Narcissa stood against the wall in the dark hallway embarrassed, alone and feeling incredibly naive, wishing for him to never have seen her presence in the first place.

She heard the door open to her left, but didn't move.

"Excuse me, miss?"

She looked up and was horrified to see him standing before her. She opened and closed her mouth, desperately trying to find something to say.

He smiled at her, offering his hand. She took it hesitantly. He raised it to his lips, brushing a light kiss upon her knuckles. She didn't think it was physically possible to get any redder in the face.

"I don't believe we've ever been properly introduced," he said smoothly. "My name is Lucius Malfoy. It's a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance."

* * *

A/N: My local classical music station played Hedwig's Theme while I was writing this so I'm in a very happy mood. It's such a beautifully composed piece.

Please take some time to review and let me know what you think!

~Lira Veralily


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